Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
HERRIMAN — Saturday’s rugby match was billed as a celebration for the Utah Warriors and their accompanying rugby community.
With over a thousand youth and college rugby players in attendance, all the Warriors needed to do was win to make the night perfect.
In a season without a previous home victory, it was easier said than done.
But it got done — and what a celebration it was.
Fets Vainikolo scored two tries, and the Utah Warriors held Austin Elite without a second-half score until added time to snap a seven-match losing skid with a 35-19 victory Saturday evening in front of 3,104 fans at Zions Bank Stadium.
James Semple, Ara Elkington, Les Soloai and Alex Tucci each added a try for the Warriors, who doubled their win total and improved to 2-8-1 in Major League Rugby’s second season.
"It's great to finally get a reward for these guys," Warriors coach Alf Daniels said after the match. "They've been putting in so much work and so much effort.
"We've come close a couple of times, and to finally get it over the line tonight was very pleasing."
Vainikolo opened the scoring just two minutes into the match, giving the Warriors a 7-0 lead on a breakaway in the third minute of play and the fast start they had been looking for all week in training.
"That was one of our major focuses this week, to have a good start so that we could finish well, too," Vainikolo said. "We were glad to get that. Even though we had the little mistake in between, we still came out on top."
But even though Austin (0-11) entered the match as the worst team in the league, the Elite didn't give up. Back-to-back tries gave the visitors a 12-7 advantage, and the Warriors found themselves in a familiar position — threatening to trail at halftime.
Just before the break, Semple took a swing pass from Josh Reeves to give the Warriors a 14-12 halftime edge — and the hosts never trailed again.
Elkington and Tucci each scored a second half try, Utah's forwards held Austin without a score until the final second of the match, and Vainikolo's rumbling try in the 78th minute set off a gleeful celebration unseen previously at Zions Bank Stadium in the club's second season.
"I know the boys really appreciate the fans support and love and genuine rugby fans," Soloai said. "It was awesome, not only for us but for our players."
The team honored college rugby teams from across the state at halftime, with appearances by squads from BYU, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley and Weber State, as well as youth programs from around the Wasatch Front.
New faces
Utah also announced two signings for the second half of the 2019 season at halftime. Adam Thomson, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound loose forward who helped the New Zealand All Blacks to the 2011 Rugby World Cup title will join the club in time for the 2020 season, and Fijian international Pat Ravouvou, a 5-foot-10 utility back who currently plays for Western Sydney Rams in Australia, will sign with the club in the coming weeks.
Next up
The Warriors hit the road again to face the Glendale Raptors next Saturday, May 4 at 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be broadcast on KJZZ and streamed live on ESPN+.
Utah’s next home match is May 18 against the San Diego Legion. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT at Zions Bank Stadium.
